Synlet Beautiful Disaster
by megangrace1994
Summary: Violet Parr finds herself in a rut coming out of college and discovers an interest in the boss at her new internship. She's unaware that her boss is none other than Buddy Pine, who at one time conspired to kill her family. Will she be able to believe that he can change or is he deceiving her again?
1. Chapter 1

A clock on the wall was ticking away – the only sound in the room. Violet Parr bit on the eraser of her pencil as she reread the question on the exam in front of her once more. The ticking of the clock was getting so loud, at this point, she couldn't even focus on her exam.

"Grr…" she grumbled silently as she scribbled down a BS answer.

"Pencils down," her professors voice finally broke the silence.

Violet's head shot up and her face drained of color as she looked down at the half-page she still hadn't completed.

"Damn it…" she muttered, dropping her pencil on the desk, which rolled off and onto the floor.

What she wouldn't give to be invisible right now.

She timidly handed in her exam and tried to escape out the door before the professor could catch her, but unfortunately, unlike her younger brother Dash, she wasn't one for speed.

"Ms. Parr," the professor called out.

She sighed in defeat as she turned around, smiling nervously at her history professor, "Yes, Professor Keane?" she asked nervously curling a strand of her long dark hair around her ears, only to have it fall back in her face once more.

"Did you… have trouble studying for my exam, Ms. Parr?" he asked, eyeing her unfinished exam.

"_Now that you mention it – yes. There was a situation involving the Underminer and the bank, so I was downtown hunting for a mole with my family all night!_" she thought.

"Just… ran out of time I guess," Violet chuckled nervously.

Professor Keane gave her a look before setting her exam down in the stack of the rest of them, "I see… well, we'll see if you have to retake my class in the fall then, won't we?"

Violet sighed as she walked out of the classroom, "Yeah, if I haven't dropped out by then…" she muttered under her breath.

She walked out onto campus towards where she'd parked her car. She scowled a bit as she looked around at all the students saying their summer farewells.

Violet would've originally liked to go away to college, rather than just sticking around for community college. She didn't have much of a choice though, being a part of the most famous super family in the city - Not that anyone knew of course. But much to her surprise, she found she quite enjoyed life as a super more than she initially thought she would. So much in fact, she considered just dropping school all together. She didn't even know if she continued with school what she'd like to major in. She was really handy with computers, but she didn't know what that meant for her future, since her future ultimately was already laid out. Invisigirl didn't need to go to college.

She threw her backpack in the back seat of her car and drove down the familiar streets towards her house.

She thought about how much her life had changed in the past 5 years. The supers' return had been an iconic one. But unfortunately, there weren't many of them left. Thanks to the act of Syndrome, many of the original supers had been killed. All that were left in the city were her family, Frozone, and a couple of free lancers.

Syndrome.

It seemed like so long ago.

He'd nearly destroyed the city and killed them all. She'd asked her father once why Syndrome disliked them so much. Her father would sigh a little and place his hand on her shoulder and reply, "Sometimes people make mistakes and they can't make up for them. Sometimes people change, for the better or for the worse. It's their choice," and he would leave it at that.

She pulled into their house and walked inside. She was immediately greeted by a short young boy with red spikey hair running past her out the door, chasing a dog.

"Jack-Jack!" Violet called after him, "Mom told you not to let Luxo outside,"

Her baby brother grabbed the dog around the body and picked him up. Luxo was a small yorkie but he looked a lot bigger next to Jack Jack's little body, "That's why I was chasing him!" Jack Jack piped up, pulling the dog back inside.

"Uhm… isn't Dash supposed to be watching you?" Violet set her bag down and pulled the door shut. She looked around the living room, her kid brother was no where in sight.

Jack Jack was rolling on the floor with Luxo.

Violet groaned. As she walked down the hall to her brother's room she heard loud booming music coming from behind a door. She rolled her eyes and opened the door to her brother's room, "Dash, you're supposed to be watching Jack Jack" she yelled over the music.

Violet's fifteen year old brother was sitting on his bed reading through a music magazine. He didn't look up. Violet's eyes narrowed and she turned off his music.

"I was listening to that…" Dash looked up at her and glared a bit.

"No, you're supposed to be watching Jack Jack," Violet crossed her arms.

"Why should I? You're home now, your turn," Dash smirked, turning his music back on.

"Dash," she shut it back off again, "You can't just leave a shape shifting six year old to have free range of the house, last time you did that he almost burned down the house,"

Dash rolled his eyes, turning back to his magazine.

"I'll tell mom," Violet threatened, putting her hands on her hips.

Dash looked up at her, "If you tell mom, I'll tell mom how you flunked two classes this semester,"

Violet's eyes widened for a second before they narrowed, "How did you know?"

"Got a letter in the mail," he replied with a smirk, holding up a letter addressed to Violet from the college that he'd ripped open.

"You went through my stuff!" she reached for it, but Dash zipped to the other side of the room. The two of them scrambled around the room, fighting over the letter until Violet hit Dash with a force field causing him to drop the letter which she quickly grabbed, "Nice try, now go make sure Jack Jack doesn't burn the house down,"

Dash narrowed his eyes and groaned. Violet walked into her own room and shut the door. She pulled the letter out of the envelope and read it.

"_Dear Ms. Parr,_

_This letter is to inform you that upon the incompletion of two required credit classes, you will have to repeat these courses and you will not have enough credits to pass freshmen courses."_

She groaned and ripped up the letter, throwing it away in the trash can by her desk.

She laid down on her bed and pulled the blanket up to her head and let her eyes close.


	2. Chapter 2

_Darkness._

_Violet spun around, looking in every direction, but she saw nothing._

_She heard a quiet laugh that sounded like it was coming from right behind her. _

_She gasped and spun around quickly._

_Standing before her was a tall, muscular man. His black cape was long and the giant white S on his chest told her exactly who he was._

_He raised his eyebrows at her, "Surprise,"_

_All at once he covered her._

Violet let out a gasp as she sat up in bed. The room was pitch black. She breathed heavily as she flipped on her bedside lamp. She wiped the sweat off her face and looked at her clock. 6:30.

Mom and Dad were probably home by now.

She pulled her hoodie on and walked out into the living room, tugging at the sleeves.

"Come on ref! You're blind!" her father yelled at a football game.

Dash was lounging on the couch, texting.

Jack Jack was passed out on the living room floor, cuddled with the dog.

Violet walked into the kitchen, "Hey, mom," she smiled.

Helen Parr smiled pulling dinner out of the oven, "There you are, I was wondering where you were hiding," she placed dinner on the counter, "How was your history final,"

Violet chuckled, "Yeah… I got about… half of it done"

Helen frowned and let out a sigh, "Vi…"

Violet's eyes stared at the ground.

Her mother looked at her, a disappointed look on her face, "Violet, what would you like me to say?"

"There's nothing to say, mom," Violet replied.

"Your father and I work really hard to give you and Dash a normal life-"

Violet rolled her eyes, "Normal… yeah,"

Helen let out a sigh, "You know, we're gonna talk about this with your father after dinner. You haven't gotten out of this, young lady,"

Violet scowled and looked at the ground.

"What smells so good? I'm starving," Bob Parr entered the kitchen, "Hey, there you are, Vi," he rubbed her back, "I was wondering where you'd run off to,"

"Dash," Helen called, "Come set the table, and wake up your brother"

A groan came from Dash in the other room.

"Now!" Helen called.

And with a light breeze, Dash was beside them in the kitchen getting plates out, "I'm going, I'm going,"

Violet moved her food around at dinner.

"Aren't you hungry, Violet?" Bob asked her.

She sighed, "Not really," she rose to her feet.

"Not so fast, Violet," her mother stopped her, "Your father and I still have things to discuss with you,"

Bob turned to Helen, his mouth full of food, "We do?"

Helen shook her head and sighed as she handed her husband a napkin.

Dash laughed quietly under his breath causing Violet to flash him a glare. Dash flinched a bit.

"Go to your room, we'll be up in a few minutes," Helen told her.

Violet sighed and went to her room.

She shut the door and sat on her bed. She felt a longing, a need for change. She just didn't know what. She hated where her life was right now. It revolved around her going to school for things she would probably never need to know ever again after finishing her degree. The only time she truly felt special was when she got to suit up and be out in the city doing what she was born to do. She slid down to the floor, leaning on the edge of her bed.

After a few minutes her parents came into her room.

"Let's talk, Violet," her mother spoke gentler than her earlier approach.

Violet looked up at her parents.

Her dad sat on the edge of her bed, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"I don't want to go back," Violet told them, "To school…"

"Violet, I just don't see that as a logical option," her mom said.

"There's nothing for me there," she told them, "I spend more time out there," she rose and pointed out the window, "fighting and doing what I was meant to do…"

"But you need to be prepared to live in the real world," Helen told her, stroking her hair, "I mean, heck, no one can afford to be super all the time, you can't make a living off of it, we do it as a public service,"

Violet's eyes fell a bit.

"I think what your mother is trying to say is, you need to have a back up plan," Bob told Violet, stroking her hair, "Your mother and I make a living for us at our office jobs, we can't live off being super,"

"I know that…" Violet spoke, "I just don't see the point in going to school… I don't need it, I can get an internship somewhere and start working if getting a job is so important… I just can't stand sitting in lecture halls day after day after day," she told them, "I like fighting… I know I was never the fan of our powers…" her voice got quieter as she curled her hair behind her ears, "But it makes us different, special… We can do things no one else can do. I want that…" she finished quietly.

Helen opened her mouth to speak but Bob was first to speak, "That's great, Violet," he smiled at her. Helen let out her breath, "Violet, sweetie, I'm glad you're so invested in being super but…" she and her husband looked at each other. Bob gave his wife a reassuring smile. Helen sighed, "Well, I suppose… if you can find an internship or something before next semester-"

Violet jumped up and threw her arms around her mother, "Thank you!"

Helen chuckled and rubbed her daughters back. Violet hugged her dad, "Thank you,"

"No problem, baby," Bob smiled at her.

"Well, get some sleep, Vi," Helen kissed her on the cheek and she and Bob left the room.

Violet smiled. This was just the chance she was hoping for. Something fresh, something new. New scenery. Anything would be better than what she was living with now.


	3. Chapter 3

Violet spent a majority of the next few days on her laptop, scrolling through endless pages of job listings. To her dismay, none of them were for her. They all required degrees she didn't have and skills she couldn't do. She was getting frustrated. Violet feared her future would sound something like "Would you like fries with that". The last thing she wanted was to make her parents regret their decision.

She closed her laptop and looked outside, practically begging something to go wrong so she'd have at least a little bit of action today.

She groaned after watching the window for 10 minutes and went into the kitchen to make some food when the phone finally let out a ring. Violet's head whipped around and a smirk grew on her face, "Suit up Dash!" she called upstairs.

She picked up the phone, "Hello?"

The voice on the other end was that of a police officer, "We're in need of some assistance downtown… there was a hold up at the bank."

"On our way," Violet smirked.

Almost immediately she and Dash were downtown, they ran right into Helen and Bob who'd gotten the call from work.

The thieves' car was speeding quickly down the road.

"Dash," Helen called out, "catch up with them"

Dash smirked and raced after them. He caught up with the small, beater, black get away car. He knocked on the window and waved at them.

The two guys in the car jumped, startled by him. The car swirved.

"Dash! Be careful!" Bob called out, "Invisigirl, stop them."

Violet ran toward the car that was swirving and trying to straighten out. She threw a force field at the car which caused the car to crash and come to a hault.

"A hold up at the bank" they'd said. Violet sighed, a little disappointed. Honestly, at the very least they could've actually had real bullets in their weapons. An easy days work. Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl went to talk with the police. Villains and criminals just weren't what they used to be. Occasionally some civilian would get experimental and they'd have something interesting, or one of the crazies like the Underminer would rear his ugly head back into trouble, but nothing ever got as exciting as that first showdown between the Incredibles and Syndrome. She smirked a bit as she recalled how exciting it had been.

Syndrome was a very worthy opponent. His invensions and his robots were quite attention grabbing for someone like her who loved that sort of thing. Even as psychotic as he was, she couldn't say he wasn't great at what he did.

She was walking back toward the bank to meet up with her parents when something caught Violet's eye. There was a flyer on a phone pole advertising a small computer programing company looking for an intern – no degree or previous experience needed. She chuckled, "Who'd be that desperate for an intern" she thought. Then she stopped, "I'm that desperate for a job…" she spoke, pulling a phone number off the flyer. It was worth a shot.

That evening Violet shut herself up in her room and dialed the number on the tear off she'd grabbed. She wasn't quite sure what to expect. It rang a few times before it was picked up.

"Hello?" a deep male voice said on the other line.

Violet nervously sat up, "H-Hello, I'm calling about the intern position… Uhm, my name is Violet Parr,"

There was a chuckle on the other end, "Wow… Ms. Parr, I've had those flyers up for a week and you're the first response I've gotten,"

Violet chuckled nervously, "Well I like computers… I'm pretty good with them, and I'm kinda in need of a job right now,"

"Well, if you can come by tomorrow afternoon for an interview I bet we could work something out," his cool voice replied on the other end.

Violet grinned, "That would be absolutely fantastic, Mr…"

"Pine," he replied, "Buddy Pine,"

A smile crept onto her face, "Mr. Pine, thank you so much… where should we meet?"

"Well the office is downtown on 13th avenue," he explained.

"Awesome," she smiled brightly, "I'll see you then,"

They hung up and Violet found herself giddy and excited for tomorrow. Not only was it a job – a paying job, but it was also doing something she loved, working with computers. She tried not to get ahead of herself. This Mr. Pine could take one look at her and completely change his mind. She hoped he wouldn't.

She'd gotten really good with computers as she grew up. She was on her robotics team in high school, and she'd rebuilt a few computers for some projects over the years. She knew this would be a good field for her. Now she just had to get through the interview.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Violet dressed really nice, pulling her long raven hair back with a headband to keep it out of her eyes. She put her purse together and drove downtown, keeping her eyes peeled for the office. She smirked when she saw what she was looking for: Pinex Computer Company. She grinned. It was a cute little store. There didn't seem to be much money into it yet, she assumed it must be new.

She walked in the door that let out a jingle as it opened, and looked around. It was all one color: white. There was a reception desk in the front, another desk further back and a work station with computer parts spread out all over it. There was a door in the back that she figured lead to a back room. But her eyes were drawn to the work station. She smiled and bit her lip as she walked over and began looking at the pieces scattered around the table. She smiled. Putting a computer together was like a puzzle. She hesitated before picking up a piece and setting it in it's proper place. She picked up the screwdriver and screwed it in very carefully. She smirked at it.

Suddenly, a voice from behind her made her jump.

"I see you couldn't wait to get your hands on it," the voice chuckled.

She spun around and dropped the screwdriver. She faced what would hopefully be her new boss. He was quite young – late twenties, maybe early thirties, he was well built – very muscular. He wore a long sleeve, plaid, button up with a pair of jeans and his bright, firey red hair was gelled back. Violet blushed out of embarrassment, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to- I just saw it and-"

He held up his hand to quiet her, "It's alright," he chuckled, "You must be Violet," he smiled.

"Yes," she chirped nervously, "Violet Parr, and you're Mr. Pine," she held out her hand.

He let out a laugh, "Please, that makes me sound so old, call me Buddy," he smiled at her, taking her hand.

She smiled, "Buddy. Okay,"

Buddy smiled at her, "So, what exactly did you do to this computer?"

"Well, I just put the disc drive back into place," Violet responded, pointing to her work.

"You seem like you really know your way around a computer," he leaned against the table with one arm to look at what she'd done.

She smiled, "Mhmm… I also know some things when it comes to programing… and some other things…" her voice trailed off, trying not to sound too much like a nerd. She curled her hair around her ear – a nervous habit.

Buddy's blue eyes fell on her face, he smiled, "Not bad,"

Her eye brows raised and she smiled at him, "Really? Thank you… although an intern job probably doesn't require me to know a lot of that," she rubbed her arm nervously.

"Well," Buddy chuckled, "It certainly doesn't hurt anything…" he looked at her again, examining her a bit.

She smiled, "So… what would my job entail?" she asked, still trying to shake her nerves.

Buddy walked over to the reception desk, "I need someone to work up front. I'm not really much of a people person…"

Violet found that incredibly hard to believe.

He continued, "And your job would be answering the phone, taking appointments from whoever comes in," he listed.

She nodded, slightly disappointed there wouldn't be much touching the computers and equipment.

He looked at her, reading her face, and smirked, "And maybe a bit of helping me out from time to time,"

Her grin lit up, "Excellent!"

She startled herself a bit at how loud she got, she blushed, "Sorry,"

He chuckled, "You've got a lot of energy, I like that, I think we'll work well together,"

Violet smiled, "I hope so,"

She and Buddy shared a smile for a moment before he rubbed his hands on his jeans, "Well, how about while we wait for someone to come in, you can show me how you went about fixing this computer,"

They spent the continuation of the morning working on the computer together until they had it fixed. Business was rather slow, only a handful of people showing up all day.

The next day was virtually the same. Violet, being of intern status, offered to go get lunch. Buddy chuckled, "It's funny, it's almost like you think we'll miss a customer if we leave for an hour,"

Violet half smiled, "Is it… always this slow?"

Buddy nodded, "I only just opened this place up a few months ago, I'm still trying to let people know we're here," he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

Violet looked around the room. The walls were white and virtually bare. It didn't surprise her at all that customers were few and far between. There was nothing to draw them in. Buddy was wearing a light blue button up today, and Violet couldn't help but notice how well it brought out his bright blue eyes.

"So what do you say we close up shop for an hour and go get some lunch?" Buddy offered.

Violet grinned, curling her hair behind her ear, "Alright,"

Buddy walked over and turned the open sign to closed and locked the door. Violet followed him out the back door to his car. It wasn't necessarily the nicest car she'd ever seen. She looked over at his face to study it. He seemed slightly embarrassed by his car but tried to hide it.

He turned the key and the engine stalled at first. His eyes narrowed, "Damn it…" he muttered, turning it again. The engine turned over and his shoulders relaxed.

They went to a Chinese place and picked up some take out, getting a booth in the restaurant. He'd gotten quiet when they arrived at the restaurant. "So, Buddy," she smiled at him as she ate her food. He looked up at her.

"Where are you from?" she asked.

He gestured his hand to signal, "around here".

"You're from Mr. Wang's Chinese Restaurant?" she teased with a grin, "Wow, that's a story you'll have to tell me later," she chuckled.

A smile tugged at his lips and his eyes narrowed slightly, almost impressed she'd gotten a grin out of him, "I'm from around here," he grinned, his eyes falling back to the table and his food.

"Have you always lived here?" she asked, "I just… I've lived here all my life, and I see a lot of the city since I went to school here in the city, and I've never seen you around here before,"

He glanced up at her a moment and smirked, before his eyes falling back down to his food, "All my life,"

She smiled gently, wondering how she'd never seen him around before.

"_Went_ to school?" he spoke again.

"Huh?" she asked.

"You said went. Past tense. Why don't you go to school anymore? I mean you're young. You can't be 20," he spoke, putting some food in his mouth.

She smirked and crossed her arms, "I'll be 21 in August, thank you."

He sat up a bit and smirked, "Wow, I never would've guessed that,"

She grinned and put some food in her mouth as well, taking a sip of her water.

"You know, you still avoided the question," he smirked at her.

She frowned a bit, "I don't know, why do people think we need a piece of paper to be successful? I know plenty of people who never went to college or who dropped out of high school and they went on to have great futures, so why do I need to right?" she huffed a bit. She shook her head and sighed, "Sorry, I didn't mean to get all preachy…"

"You're not," he replied, a serious look on his face.

She looked at him.

"You have bigger plans for yourself than other people do, good for you," he told her, his face unchanging, "I didn't go to college,"

She half smiled.

His face fell and he put a small smile back on, "Sorry, now I'm being cryptic,"

She half smiled and shook her head.

"But I'm serious," he spoke, "Do what you know to be best for you, not what others want you to do,"

"So… you're whole life?" she asked, "Metroville isn't that exciting,"

He chuckled, "Yeah… I mean I grew up in Municiberg," his smile faded as he stared out into space a moment, "But I hightailed it out of there when I was 16,"

"Before you finished high school?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Buddy shook his head, "I didn't finish,"

Violet blinked, "Really?"

Buddy shrugged, "It was always so easy for me," he took a sip of his water, "I have an IQ of 150. My mom died when I was 16 and I left. I didn't need school," he explained.

Violet frowned, "I'm so sorry…"

Buddy connected eyes with her a moment, "About my mom? Don't be, it's been years,"

"Still…" Violet spoke, "That must've been awful…"

Buddy didn't speak for a moment. He pulled out his wallet and stood up, "Well," he put a small grin back on his face, "Let's head back to the store,"

Violet pulled some cash out but Buddy stopped her, "Nope, I got it," he offered.

"A-are you sure?" Violet asked, her cheeks tinting pink a bit, "I don't mind-"

"Consider it my welcome to the team," Buddy offered.

Violet grinned, "Thank you,"

"The team of two?" Violet teased as they walked back to the car.

Buddy chuckled, "Hush,"


	5. Chapter 5

Violet grinned to herself as she scrolled through old pictures on her computer from robotics club in high school. It was really got her interested in engineering and computers.

She came across a picture from her sophomore year of high school. She had her arms around a tall muscular football player with a messy brown mop. She frowned. Tony Rydenger.

She couldn't hate him all together. After all he was her first love. They dated off and on for about two years until Violet finally broke up with him. He was everything any girl should want: a football player, a heartthrob, homecoming and prom king, but Violet knew he always liked to keep it on the quieter side that his girlfriend was in the robotics club and wore a lot of black and didn't talk much. She decided she didn't want to be with someone who didn't fully appreciate her. So she left him.

Last time she had seen him go by on her facebook timeline he was in some huge frat at the state university and he was dating some sorority girl with long brown hair.

Whatever.

At least he's happy.

Relationships were weird to Violet. Sometimes she wasn't sure if she was meant to be with anyone long term. Tony was the only long term anything she'd had and she wasn't even that happy with him. I mean, of course, she'd really _like_ to be with someone. But she didn't see it happening any time soon. She had too much to do, too much responsibility. If she was planning on being – in a sense – a full time super, she didn't really have the time to really pursue a relationship with anyone. Especially considering the fact that at a certain point it involves dropping the bomb that you're a super. She'd wanted to tell Tony a number of times. Her parents always advised against it. She was glad she never did. But it always was slightly painful having to cancel plans last minute because of responsibility to the city.

She enjoyed being Invisigirl. And for the time being, that's all she really had time for. Not a relationship.

Buddy walked up a few flights of stairs to his apartment. He stuck his key in and jiggled the door knob. He groaned and rolled his eyes as he shoved against the door.

Stuck. Again.

He pushed it open with his shoulder. It gave from the force. He sighed and shut it behind him, locking it.

He had to remember to tell the landlord about that.

His apartment wasn't by any means glamorous.

After all, he didn't have much anymore.

He grabbed himself a beer out of his fridge and plopped down on the couch he'd paid about 50 dollars for at a thrift shop. He didn't bother turning any lights on, the lights from the city outside the window were enough to light the room. A siren could be heard faintly in the distance.

He'd once been one of the richest tycoons in the weapons industry. He had been an inventor. He created remarkable things. But he'd lost it all after the accident.

After years and years of planning and scheming, he had created a plan to take back the supers. All he ever wanted was to be a super, ever since he was a kid. He absolutely hated that he was looked down on for it just because he wasn't born with powers. All he wanted was to help.

His dreams were crushed. Mr. Incredible had crushed his dreams at the age of 8 and it changed everything. Something changed inside Buddy that day. He needed to prove it. Not just to Mr. Incredible, but to himself, and to his mother, and to everyone who told him how ridiculous and stupid his dreams were, that everyone can be super. At least that's how it had started out. He'd gotten too involved with bad people in his dealings as a weapons inventor and he'd gotten thrown into a life full of money, sex, and power. It all came back to bite him in the ass when operation Kronos failed.

Mirage left him, and he was in a terrible accident.

He got up from the couch and loosened his tie, throwing it down. He upbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off, looking at himself in the mirror. His torso was covered in horrible scars. He'd memorized their every curve by now. His right arm was worst. The accident had nearly completely ruined his arm. The muscle had been mangled so much it almost seemed like he'd never use his arm again. He was just lucky to be alive. He called a few old connections, calling in some favors. He had more than just complete use of his right arm now. He reached his left hand across his body to touch his arm. The automail was cold under his touch. Cold. Steel. It was strong, indestructible, and made him more powerful than he'd ever been. But all for what?

He let out a sigh.

After all, you can't be pulled into a jet turbine and not come out with a few scars.

Therapy and medications had calmed the demons in his head that had terrorized him for years. But he had to leave a life behind him. He went underground for years, until he was sure everyone had forgotten about Syndrome, or everyone thought he was dead.

All he wanted now was to return to what he'd been.

He wanted it back. The power, the control.

He had new plans to put into action.

And he was tired of waiting.


	6. Chapter 6

Several weeks of working together and Buddy and Violet were beginning to get along with each other better than they thought they would. Occasionally a customer would come in and they'd see to them, but most of the time it was the two of them laughing and talking while they worked. Buddy was starting to pick up on Violet's mannerisms. Like how she curled her hair around her ear when she was nervous, how she crinkled her nose when she laughed, and how she liked to chew on her eraser while she thought really hard. Every now and then their conversations would quiet down while she was working on paperwork and he was working on some equipment, but every now and then they'd glance up and meet each other's eyes with a grin.

One slow Thursday afternoon, Buddy was getting thoroughly frustrated with a piece-of-crap, old computer someone had brought in. He let out a groan as he shoved it aside.

Violet turned at the sound and gave him a bit of a half smile, "Having any trouble, Mr. Boss Man?" she teased with a small grin.

Buddy ran his fingers through his hair, "It's just a piece of shit, I mean at some point these people should just upgrade it, right?"

Violet chuckled and walked over to him, placing her hand on his arm gently, "May I?"

Buddy furrowed his eyebrows a bit, but handed her the tools anyway.

Violet pulled the computer in front of her and bit her lip gently as she looked through the inside of it.

Buddy watched her every move, including the grin of satisfaction the spread across her face when she spotted something she knew what to do with. She fiddled with the computer for a few moments. Buddy liked watching her mind work. He could practically see the gears turning in her head as she worked.

He leaned against the table and smirked at her.

She worked for another good minute before catching his eye again. She did a bit of a double-take when she realized he was watching her intently with a sly little smirk on his face. Her cheeks filled with color and she shyly set down the tools. "What is it…" she asked shyly, curling her hair around her ear.

"Nothing," he assured her, "You're just… really interesting to watch," he spoke.

She looked at him a moment and blushed, "Well, thank you,"

"You're very good at what you do, and you're passionate about it," Buddy spoke, "Passion is an incredible tool,"

She felt her cheeks getting hot, "It's just something I'm good at,"

"Mhmm," he responded. He looked at her another moment. Her innocent little blush was kind of adorable.

She curled another strand of her long dark hair around her ear, "Well, do you want to get some lunch?" She asked with a smile, nervously rubbing her arm, her cheeks still full of color, "You want Mr. Wang's? or that burger place two blocks over?" she asked.

He grinned, "You chose,"

She smiled as she grabbed her purse, "Burger place?"

Buddy smiled, "Alright, let's go,"

Violet smiled and the two of them locked up and set off to get food.

When they got to the restaurant they fell back into their usual small talk conversation. Violet took a bite of her veggie burger.

"You never mentioned you were a vegetarian," Buddy spoke, eating a French frie.

She shrugged, "Well you never asked,"

He chuckled, "Jeez, it just reminds me of this girl I almost dated once," he spoke, "she was a vegetarian and I was young, like maybe 15 and I wanted this girl to think I was really cool, right? - Which, honestly, she probably knew right off the bat that I was _not_ cool. – and so of course I told her I was a vegetarian too,"

Violet raised an eyebrow and smirked, "What did you get yourself into, Buddy," she chuckled.

"Well, I invited her out to this place for dinner once – really nice place," he spoke, "Only to realize… It was a steakhouse,"

Violet laughed, "Oh my gosh,"

"Needless to say, we didn't even make it to the appetizers," Buddy chuckled.

Violet shook her head and smiled at him, taking a sip of her water.

"Still goes down as the worst date of my life," Buddy chuckled, taking a bite of his food.

"Oh, no," Violet spoke up, "I can one up you on that,"

She sat up, "So I dated this guy, Tony, for like 2 years in high school. He was this really popular football guy and I was that nerdy girl on the robotics team. So anyway, he wasn't really the smartest person in the world – sometimes I think he just kept dating me because I helped him study." She chuckled, "So we were having a study date and he thought that Islam was – and I quote – 'That country where Aladdin takes place'." She laughed.

Buddy laughed, "You dated a football jock?"

Violet shook her head, "I know, it's so weird. I had such a crush on him and then when we started dating…" she laughed.

Buddy took a sip of his drink, "I bet I could still beat that," he smirked.

Violet raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

He grinned, "I'll tell you what. Tomorrow night, I'm going to take you on the worst date of your life,"

Violet laughed, "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," Buddy grinned.

"And what if we get to the end of the date and it's _not_ the worst date of my life?" Violet smirked, "What then, Pine?"

Buddy thought for a moment then smirked, "Then I get to take you out again,"

Violet's playful smirk escaped her face and she felt her cheeks get hot. She smiled and held out her hand, "Well, you've got yourself a deal,"

Buddy took her hand, "I should warn you though," he teased, "I can be quite the charmer,"

Violet smirked, "We'll see about it,"


	7. Chapter 7

The next evening Violet looked at herself in the long mirror in her room, turning a bit to see how her short black skater dress looked. Why did she care so much about how this looked? It's not like it was a real date, right? It was a joke.

It was Buddy.

It wasn't like it was something she had to get super dressed up for.

But she still wanted to.

There was a light knock on her door and her mom poked her head in, "Hey, Vi," she smiled. "Nice dress. So, are we ever going to get to meet this guy? I mean he's your boss and-"

"Mom…" Violet whined a bit, feeling a bit embarrassed, "It's not like it's that serious. We're just going to hang out and get some dinner, it's not a big deal,"

"I know that," her mom chuckled, "It's just nice to see you get excited about something again,"

Violet smiled, "Well thank you, it's nice to get excited about something again,"

Violet sat at her vanity and put some eye shadow on.

"Well if you need anything tonight we shouldn't be going anywhere," Helen told her, "You have a good time tonight,"

Violet smiled, "Thanks mom," she stood up and grabbed a purse and walked to her door, "Wait… uhm… when you said 'get excited about something again'… did you mean the job or…" Violet raised an eyebrow.

Her mom gave her a small smile, "Which did _you_ mean?"

Violet blushed. Her phone let out a buzz. She pulled it out, "He's here," she smiled, "I'll see you later,"

Violet ran downstairs and out to Buddy's car.

Buddy was dressed nice. His hair was a nice halfway between slick and messy. He was wearing a light blue plaid shirt and a pair of nice jeans. He smiled at her, "You look great,"

Violet smiled, "Thank you, you're not too bad yourself, Mr. Pine," she grinned.

Buddy tried to cover up his nerves he had for taking his pretty young coworker on a date.

"So, where are we going?" Violet asked.

Buddy smiled at her, "You'll see,"

They drove downtown. The city looked beautiful at night – the lights in all the windows of the skyscrapers that stretched higher than anyone could see. The neon of the signs downtown of buildings like the movie theatre and a few night clubs.

Buddy parked the car in a parking garage. He opened Violet's door for her and held out his arm to her.

"Well, aren't you charming," Violet teased him.

Buddy shrugged, "It's been known to happen," he winked, "At least I warned you,"

Violet chuckled and curled her hair behind her ear.

They walked down a few blocks to a little Italian restaurant. It wasn't super fancy or huge, it looked family owned and quaint.

Once they'd sat down, they fell into conversation.

"So have I won the bet yet?" Buddy asked with a smirk, raising his eyebrows.

"Not so fast," Violet smirked, "The night's still young,"

Buddy smiled.

Violet blushed when her eyes caught the way the lights hit Buddy's eyes making them sparkle.

She smiled.

Buddy was a wreck with nerves. He was glad he could cover most of that with charm. But he hadn't been on a date in years. Not since his last serious girlfriend, Mirage and it'd been years since they'd been together.

Buddy watched her as she looked over the menu. He kept going back and forth in his head. Was it just a fun night for hanging out, or was this actually a date? They'd called it a date, sure, but did he actually maybe… possibly… feel something for this girl.

Even just a little bit?

He felt his cheeks turning red, so he quickly turned down to look at his menu.

Shit.

They fell back into small talk, which was a relief for Buddy. It relaxed him a bit more.

There food had just been brought out and they'd just started eating when all of a sudden Violet's phone started ringing.

She furrowed her brow and looked at it.

"What is it?" Buddy asked.

She looked at it another moment before clicking ignore.

"Nothing…" she put her phone down.

Before she could pick her fork back up it rang again.

"Shit…" she breathed, "I need to take this…" she flashed him an apologetic look. She walked towards the bathroom.

"Hello…" she groaned a bit.

"We've been trying to get a hold of you," her brother said on the other end. His voice was kinda hurried.

"What is it?" she asked. Dumb question. She already knew the answer.

"You know what. Come get ready to head out. Dad said it's gonna take all of us tonight," Dash told her.

"You've got to be kidding me!" she said in a whisper, "I'm on a date,"

"Sucks to suck," Dash hung up the phone.

Violet groaned and locked her phone.

She peaked her head back out of the bathroom window and saw Buddy sitting by himself.

She let out a pained sigh.

This was NOT how tonight was supposed to go.

With everything in her head giving her all the reasons to stay and all the reasons to go, she finally let out a sigh, "Please forgive me," she whispered. She quickly and quietly snuck out the back door.


	8. Chapter 8

Violet had no idea how she was supposed to face Buddy when Monday came around. The worst part of everything, was even after everything had quieted down the other night and Violet and the rest of the Incredibles had finally gotten home around 1 am. She was too embarrassed to call. She couldn't help it! Confidence was never her strong suit. Especially dating.

She nervously pushed the door open to the store on Monday, prepared for anything. She heard some sounds coming from the back room. Oddly enough, as long as she'd worked their, she'd never gone to the back room. She knew he worked on things back there but she didn't know what cause she rarely saw anything come in or out of that room – except for him. She reached up and knocked on the door.

There was silence for a minute and Violet took a deep breath.

The door opened and Buddy shut the door behind him, "Hey…" he spoke.

Violet bit her lip and let her hair fall in front of her face as she looked down a bit, "Listen, Buddy… I… I can explain everything-"

"Don't worry about it," Buddy shook his head.

"No, really I can explain," Violet protested, "There was a family emergency and I didn't have time to say anything and I really should have… but…"

Buddy looked at her and half smiled, placing his hand on her shoulder, "Really, Vi… It's okay,"

Violet blushed. Vi. He'd never called her that before.

She collected herself, "So I have a proposition for you!"

"What would that be?" Buddy smiled and crossed his arms, cocking an eyebrow.

Violet smiled, "I get to make it up to you by planning our next date,"

"Next date, huh?" Buddy smirked, but did little to hide the slight tint that filled his cheeks.

"It's the least I can do," Violet smiled.

Buddy smiled, "Alright, fine, you talked me into it,"

Violet smiled at him, "Great," she reached out and placed her hand on his arm.

Buddy smiled and let his eyes linger on her a bit too long before finally pulling them away, "Well, how about we get to work, huh?"

**Hey, author here, sorry this chapters so late and so short. Life's been crazy with end of the school year, but I'll have more time to write now that it's summer. I have big plans for this story and I'm so glad to see all the great feedback for it! I love writing it! :) This is a promise from me that I will not abandon this story. I plan to finish it, and there is a LOT more to go! If it's been a few weeks since a chapter, I promise, one is coming. I'm glad you all like it so much! :) I'm working on the next chapter now but I wanted to get a short one up first.  
-Megan**


	9. Chapter 9

They worked late into the evening. "It's getting late, I probably should head home soon," Violet told Buddy as she looked at the clock that read 8 o'clock.

"That's alright," Buddy told her, "I'll probably be here late, working on something,"

"On what?" Violet curiously inquired.

Buddy hesitated and then responded, "On what is less of the important thing, just working on anything helps clear my head," he told her.

"I see," Violet nodded. She flashed him a little smile, "Well, if you need anything, let me know." She picked her purse up, "I'll see you in the morning,"

Buddy smiled at her, "Good night,"

He watched her leave, locking the door behind her.

He counted to 20 in his head and once he was sure she wasn't coming back, he made his way into the back room.

He took his tie off and unbuttoned a few of the buttons on his shirt, rolling his sleeves up as he got back to work on the only work that really was important to him.

He had several computer monitors set up in the back room, and a table where he'd begun assembling a small prototype of his latest project.

He grinned as he clicked and typed vigorously on his computer. He watched the simulation.

The Onidroid 2.0. Biggest, better, and more powerful than ever.

He knew that to make a comeback he needed more than just a giant robot with a laser. No. This weapon had a much better weapon.

He smirked to himself.

He'd spent years, calling in all the old favors he could, to get this technology on it's feet. And now it was almost ready.

He knew when he started out that no matter what he created, the supers would find someway to take it out.

But what if they weren't super?

What if the supers were stripped of their powers and reduced to what they really were?

Human.

He'd developed a robot with a way to not only detect any super or person with super powers, but he'd equipped the robot with a ray that inhibited the super's powers. Making them nothing but powerless civilians at that point.

The robot had many more bells and whistles than just that, but this would still change the game completely.

As soon as this plan was ready he would put it into action.

He chuckled, "This is perfect!" he said to himself, "Mirage can you-"

He paused and blinked, remembering that he was working alone.

He looked around the empty room.

Buddy sighed. He supposed he was alone now.

Although… Violet was very good at engineering. He pondered the thought of letting her in on his plan. He shook his head, he didn't know if he could trust her with this yet. That meant telling someone who he really was and what he was really planning to do. He didn't pretend to know he was a villain.

For the time being, Syndrome would be working alone.


	10. Chapter 10

They had made plans to go out again Friday night, and when Friday came back around Buddy felt his nerves more at ease. The first date had been shit, yes. But she'd walked out on him once, it couldn't get any worse than that right? He exhaled as he pulled up to her house, waiting for her.

She came out and joined him, "Hey," she smiled at him.

"No family emergencies tonight?" he questioned with a chuckle, raising his eyebrow.

She laughed, "Nope, no worries at all,"

"Good," Buddy smiled at her. She returned the smile and didn't fight the blush on her cheeks.

Okay. She'd admit it. She really liked this guy. He was so charming and at the same time such a dork. He was really good at making her laugh. He was just so cool. He was even a match intelligence wise. Violet liked it when someone could challenge her intellectually and Buddy was incredibly smart.

She stole a few glances at him as they made their way downtown that evening.

Dinner, round 2, was a success. The two of them stayed around until the owners told them they were closing soon. They started walking down the streets of Metroville.

"So what do you want to do now?" Violet asked him.

"Damn, I mean, I didn't think it'd get this far," Buddy joked, running his fingers through his hair.

Violet laughed, "Are you ever going to forgive me for last time?" She blushed out of embarrassment.

Buddy smirked and turned to face her, "But it's fun making you get all flustered,"

Violet chuckled and looked down.

"Alright, Parr, you want an adventure?" Buddy smirked at her, "Let's go on an adventure," He held out his hand to her.

She took it and smiled.

They walked down an alley in between two of the big skyscrapers. "Where are we going?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"Somewhere we probably shouldn't," he smirked, "you in?"

She smirked, "Hey I break the rules time to time,"

Buddy let out a laugh, "No you don't,"

Violet feigned offense, "I do too, I was quite sneaky as a teenager,"

Buddy jiggled the handle on a door to the fire escape staircase which opened easily, "Oh, right, sneaking out at midnight to go study right?" he teased, pulling her up the stairs by the hand.

"No," she laughed.

"Who's in there!" they heard a voice call.

"Shit," Buddy whispered. They quickly ducked down.

"There's no place to hide…" Buddy whispered, "You'd have to be invisible,"

"_Well…_" Violet thought.

Luckily for them the security guard shook off what he thought he heard and had gone back down one of the corridors.

Buddy and Violet raced up the stairs till they made it to the roof.

Buddy pushed open the door and smirked as he looked out over the skyline of the city.

"Wow…" Violet said softly, amazed at the view around her.

Buddy smirked, "I'm gonna make sure that security guard didn't follow us up here," he told her as he walked back over to the door.

Violet walked over to the edge and leaned against it.

She could see so much of the city. She'd worked in the city for years, but she'd never seen it's beauty before. It really was beautiful.

Buddy came over and leaned beside her.

"This is amazing," she breathed, "I could stay up here for hours,"

Buddy rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "That's good… cause the door locked behind us," he chuckled.

"Wait, what?" Violet turned to him.

"We can worry about that later," he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind as they looked out over the city. She placed her hand on top of his.

"I love it up here," he told her.

"Do you come up here a lot?" she asked.

"No," Buddy said, "I mean, I used to… but it's been years," he spoke.

"What would you think about up here?" she asked him.

He gave a small smile as he remembered, pre- Operation Kronos days when he'd come up here and see everything he ever wanted.

"I'd think about… my future…" Buddy explained, "What I wanted to do, what I'd have to do to get it… just like…" he paused as he searched for a word, "Dreams."

"What kind of dreams?" Violet inquired innocently.

Buddy's eyes fell a bit,

"It's a long story,"

"Well, like you said, we're gonna be up here for a while," Violet reminded him.

He chuckled a bit under his breath, "Long story short… I had my dreams crushed at an early age… I was 8 years old. I met my hero. My father was never around so it was like this guy who I knew on TV and in the news was the father figure I wanted. So I made him into that in my head. I met him and he crushed me. He treated me like I was… some obnoxious little kid, some bug on the windshield, some… syndrome or virus you can't get rid of. It messed me up because all of sudden I had no one I could believe in... or to believe in me. I had no one to look up to," his voice got quieter, "So… once my mom died I left and I tried to make something of my life,"

She turned around to face him, his arms still wrapped securely around her waist, "If it's any consolation… and I don't know, cause we only just met a month or so ago… but… I believe in you," she said gently, placing her hand gently on his face.

He looked into her eyes and saw something he hadn't seen in a long time. Sincerity.

He leaned his face in close to hers, crowding his lips over hers before he connect their lips.

Violet wrapped her arms around his neck.

He pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

The two of them reluctantly pulled away, looking at each other. They both chuckled, shyly. Violet reached up to mess with her hair, but Buddy reached out and curled it around her ear for her, smiling at her.

She blushed and smiled, "So… uhm," she looked back out over the city, trying to hide her blush, "We're still stuck up here, huh?"

Buddy smirked, "No,"

Violet turned to him, "What? But you said-"

Buddy smirked, "I wanted to stay up here a while with you,"

Violet smiled, "You're good," she chuckled as she walked back towards the door.

Buddy ran to catch up, "I know," he smirked at her, taking her hand back in his.


	11. Chapter 11

The next week, dynamics had changed at work. Buddy watched her work more intently, wanting to memorize her movements. She loved doing what she did and he loved watching her. Buddy had to admit, he'd fallen for this girl. She had so much passion and heart. She was incredibly driven. Now, more than ever he wanted her to be apart of the project he was working on. It was nearly finished, and he wanted her to help him execute it. He just had no idea how he could even ask that of her. He didn't know how to even bring it up.

Violet felt so comfortable and at ease while she worked now, more so than she had before. In the beginning this job was just meant to be something to hold her over while she did super work. She couldn't lie, with the lack of decent enemies to fight, this job was becoming much more enjoyable – and her handsome boss made it enjoyable as well. Every now and then Buddy would come over and watch her work, play with her hair a bit, then he'd disappear into the back room. She still had no idea what was going on back there.

One afternoon, when Buddy was coming out of the back room, Violet decided to indulge her curiosity.

"So what do you do in there all day?" Violet asked him.

"Huh?" Buddy asked, taking off his tie.

"In the back room," Violet questioned, reaching for the door knob.

Buddy took hold of her hands, stopping her "I don't know what you mean," he smiled innocently.

Violet smirked, "It's a fair question, you spend a lot of time in there,"

"Hm?" Buddy hummed as he planted gentle kisses on her lips.

Violet blushed, "You're not going to distract me, Buddy Pine," she chuckled.

"But it's so much fun," he hummed as he moved his kisses down to her neck.

Violet giggled and shrugged him off, "Buddy,"

Buddy thought a moment, he looked down at her hands he was holding, "I can't tell you everything yet," he looked at her, "But… I will tell you, that I'm developing something that is going to change everything,"

Violet furrowed her brows, "What kind of something?"

"Just… something," he told her.

Violet looked past him at the door. What was he keeping from her. She looked back at him, "You're doing that cryptic thing again…"

Buddy kissed her on the forehead, "Don't worry about it," he gave her a reassuring smile, "I'll tell you when the time is right. It's not ready yet,"

Violet scowled a bit, "Okay…"

Buddy winked at her, "Let's go get lunch alright?"

Violet cracked a smile, "Alright, let's go,"

They were walking down the street toward the restaurant they were going to for lunch. "So how is it you've gotten so much of my angst-y tragic backstory out of me," Buddy said with a chuckle, "But you haven't told me anything about your family?"

Violet chuckled and curled her hair around her ear, "Uhm… my dad works for an insurance company,"

"Come on, there's got to be something more interesting than that," Buddy chimed in.

"My family's really not that special," Violet lied, shrugging.

Suddenly, Violet stopped right in her tracks.

"What is it?" Buddy asked.

"Do you hear something?" she asked.

There was the faintest beeping. She looked around and then realized it was coming from the pawn shop they were passing.

Violet gasped, "Look out!" She pulled Buddy by the arm past the shop but before they could get away from it there was an explosion. Violet quickly put a force field around them before any flying debris could hit them. She grimaced. There was no going back now.

As soon as he realized they were both still alive – and more importantly, not hurt, Buddy opened his eyes. As the dust around them was settling he gasped.

A force field.

She flashed him an apologetic look, "I… can explain?"

Just then two guys in masks were running from the shop.

"Hang on," she narrowed her eyes at them. She shot force fields in their direction knocking them over. She then set another one around them, holding them in one spot.

Buddy looked at her and looked around at everything that was happening, his mind racing. He blinked.

"Buddy, I can explain, but I can't do it right now," she told him.

He blinked and looked at her, breathing a little quicker.

"Please, get somewhere safe… I'll come find you when it's all over," she told him.

He just stood there for a moment.

Just then Dash ran up beside Violet, "I've got this," running toward the two guys Violet had just taken out.

Buddy was beginning to realize exactly who Violet really was, and who her family was. And it was freaking him out.

"Please, Buddy…" she pleaded, "Go…" she pulled a mask out of her purse and put it on as she ran into an alley to change.

Buddy could hardly catch his breath by the time he got back to the shop. He quickly locked the door and pulled the shades down.

His mind was running at a thousand miles a minute. He clenched his fists as he paced around the room. How could he have not seen this? It all felt so obvious to him now that he felt ridiculously stupid. She's the right age, the right physical type. How had he not have seen it from the very beginning? His mind began flashing back to all those years ago. When he was so close to finishing everything he'd worked on, put his heart into for year's prior, was taken down by a family of supers lead, of course, by his childhood hero, Mr. Incredible.

Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Dash, and Invisigirl.

It wasn't bad enough that she was a super. It wasn't bad enough that she was the daughter of Mr. Incredible. What made it worst was she was powerful enough to have been a critical part in his previous undoing.

And on top of it all, he still cared very deeply for her.

"DAMN IT!" he slammed his fist down on a table, cracking it right down the middle.

He shut his eyes and tried to breath deeply. He had to get his heart rate down. He laughed a bit to himself. All those years and all those medications that had gotten his manias under control and in 2 minutes he was right back where he started.

Well it wouldn't be long now until she found out who he really was. It amazed him she already hadn't.

He breathed.

Everything was going to change.

Part of him kept thinking about his plan. He needed to start moving things into place, and to do that he really needed Violet's help.

But she wasn't just Violet. She was Invisigirl. She was 1/5 of the most powerful family of supers in Metroville. She was good.

He envisioned exactly how he knew it would go down.

She'd discover his identity, discover his plan, and stop him before it even began.

No.

He'd worked too long and hard for it all to fall apart.

He knew falling in love was a mistake.

Love.

Shit.

On the other hand, he knew he'd really fallen for this girl. But there would be no way in hell she'd stick around if she found out he was actually Syndrome.

He had no idea how to proceed at this point.

But he knew he had to do something.


	12. Chapter 12

Violet knew he would find Buddy at his apartment that evening. She'd never been there before, but it wasn't difficult to find once she got the address from him. She dreaded every step she took up the stairs to his flat, knowing she was about to have a very difficult conversation with him. She'd never had this conversation with anyone before. She'd never had to tell anyone her secret identity before because no one outside her family ever knew or needed to know.

She nervously knocked on the door.

She rubbed her arms and curled her hair around her ears nervously while she waited for Buddy to open the door, which felt like ages.

When Buddy did open the door, he was wearing a baseball shirt with a band logo on it and a pair of sweats. Violet wasn't sure she'd ever seen Buddy this casual before. It showed her his personality a bit more. She looked at his face. He looked like a little flustered, like he'd spent a long time thinking.

"Hi" Violet broke the silence.

"Come on in," Buddy stepped aside to let her in, shutting the door behind her.

Violet sat down on the couch.

Buddy sat beside her.

The two of them turned to face each other. Violet nervously pulled her knees to her chest, "Well… I've never had to do this before…"

She took a breath, "I'm… Invisigirl,"

It felt weird, saying it out loud. Come to think of it, she wasn't sure those two words had ever escaped her lips before.

Buddy nodded, his face expressionless.

"I guess… you understand why I couldn't tell you before" she spoke softly.

"I understand" Buddy said, hardly any inflection in his voice.

They sat in silence for a minute. Violet tried to read his face, his eyes, anything, but she couldn't, and she hated that.

Buddy resituated himself and turned to her, "What's it like?" he asked, "and don't give me some bullshit answer… really… what's it like?" he questioned intently, "You didn't ask for any of this, I mean you were born like this… Is it something you want?" he suddenly seemed full of questions.

Violet had never really given any of that much thought. "I mean, I really used to hate my powers…" she spoke, "I felt like a freak. Then about five years ago when, you know, when the supers all came back… I don't know… I started to really feel a sense of purpose," she told him, "It made me not only feel special, but like… this is something I was born with. I'm supposed to use this," she looked at him.

"Do you enjoy it?" he asked her.

"Occasionally…" she replied, "I mean, I love being challenged. Like really truly challenged…" she chuckled a bit to herself, "But I…"

"What?" Buddy questioned.

Violet half smiled, "There's only been one person who I've ever felt really challenged by… Syndrome was a very worthy opponent," she said.

Buddy blinked, eyes widening a little, watching her intently.

"He was incredibly intellectual and his methods were… remarkable," Violet explained, "And… I couldn't help but… sympathize with him. Here was this man who… felt crushed by someone he looked up to. And out of all that he created incredible things – he was actually… what inspired me to do robotics team in high school…" she chuckled softly, "And it seemed like his intentions started out good… but he lost that somewhere," her eyes fell a bit as she thought, "I've never fought a villain I respect as much as Syndrome," she told him, her eyes meeting his again.

Buddy's face had gone pale.

He stood up and wiped the sweat off his face, feeling jumpy suddenly.

"Buddy…" Violet questioned, "Are you okay?"

He had his back to her, "Violet there's something you need to know,"

Violet looked worriedly at him, "What is it…"

He turned to face her again, pulling his T-shirt over his head, revealing the bionic, automail implants on his right bicep, the scars covering his chest and arms and back. Violet blinked as she reached out and touched his arm and his scars, tracing them gently, "I don't understand," she spoke gently, "What's all this from…"

Buddy took a deep breath.

"I was in an accident about five years ago…" he told her, speaking slowly. His voice was shaking, "I was involved in a… I…" he stammered a bit, "I was pulled… through a jet turbine…" he looked into her eyes.

Her eyes widened and she took a step back.

"I went by… a different name in those days…" he stammered.

Violet opened her mouth to speak, "You're…"

Buddy looked at her dead in the eyes, "…Syndrome."

They stood in silence for a moment. Violet's heart rate elevated. Did he know? All this time? Who she was? Violet read his eyes. He was in as much shock about all this as she was. He'd had no idea. She felt terrible for him, at what he must be feeling, the stress that came with the idea of the person you're dating being part of the team that took you down. She looked closer. She saw the pains of his past in his eyes. She saw the same lonely man she'd seen five years ago. She thought about all these years thinking he'd died.

The silence was deafening to Buddy. His anxiety was building up inside him. He had no idea what was going to happen next. Telling her who he was was never on the agenda for how this conversation was supposed to go tonight. What was it about her that made him trust her so much. She was probably morally obligated to turn him in now. His plans he'd spent years forming and putting together would go down the toilet in one night and he'd go to jail all because he fell in love with Invisigirl.

She wasn't saying anything.

The voices in his head hissed at him. He blinked a few times, "I… really need you to fucking say something,"

Violet couldn't think of anything to say.

She threw her arms around him and pressed her lips to his. Buddy wrapped his arms tightly around her small body and kissed her back, pulling her up off the ground. Her kiss seemed to quiet the bothersome voices in his head just long enough for him to let the words "I love you" escape his lips as they parted.

She looked him in the eyes.

"I don't care who you are, who your family is… I know you," Buddy told her, "And I love you,"

Violet's heart beat faster, "I love you too…"

Buddy crashed their lips together once more, this time less gentle and romantic and more passionate and hungry. Violet fisted his hair as she kissed him back, she wrapped her legs around his body as he pulled her up. The two of them were a mess of kissing and clothing as they made their way to Buddy's room, shutting the bedroom door behind them.


	13. Chapter 13

Buddy woke up the next morning to the sunlight peaking through the blinds of the window. He yawned and leaned up on his arm. He looked over at Violet who was still fast asleep. A small grin formed on his face as he leaned in placed a kiss on her cheek.

Violet hummed quietly as she stirred awake. She rolled over to face him. "Good morning," Buddy smiled, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Good morning," Violet smiled at him.

He leaned down and kissed her, "How are you?" he asked.

Violet smiled, "I'm good…"

"Really?" Buddy asked, "A lot of stuff came out last night… and… We can't pretend like it's not a big deal…"

Violet sat up. He was right. She knew everything was going to change. She anticipated that. They came from completely different worlds. She knew morally what she was supposed to do. She turned to look at him. His eyes were filled with worry. She took hold of his hands.

"I meant what I said last night…" she told him, "I love you…" she smiled shyly, "If I didn't trust you, would I have stayed?"

Buddy squeezed her hand.

Violet wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

He buried his face in her neck.

Violet knew she wasn't supposed to love him. He was Syndrome. He had tried to wipe out all the other supers – including her parents. He had a criminal record and a reputation. But that was years ago. He was a completely different person than he was then. And anyway, it wasn't Syndrome she'd fallen in love with… it was Buddy.

And when she looked at him that's who she saw.

Buddy. Who she could talk to about anything.

He knew what to say to make her crack a smile.

The two of them could talk for hours about comic books or movies, they connected on so many different levels.

This wasn't the same man she knew him as five years ago.

But all along something pulled at her in the back of her head.

"Buddy…" she spoke.

He hummed a response as he pulled back from the hug and looked at her.

She bit her lip gently, "What… exactly have you been working on?"

His expression changed slightly. He furrowed his brows, trying to think of the right way to bring this up, "Well…"

"Tell me the truth…" Violet told him gently.

He didn't meet her eyes, "A comeback…"

Violet paused, "What… kind of-"

"I've been working on it for four years…" Buddy began, still not looking at her. He took a deep breath, "I've been developing a new technology to bring the Omnidroids to a new level… A way to make it impossible for me to be beaten…" he finally met her gaze.

His guard was up and she could tell.

"You'll understand why I can't tell you anything else," he explained gently.

Violet nodded slightly and looked away.

"Unless…" Buddy barely spoke.

Violet turned back to him.

He smirked, "Work with me,"

Violet blinked, "What?"

Buddy sat up and took her hands, "Your power is unmatchable, Violet. Your intelligence is remarkable. Think about it," he began getting more excited, a devilish smirk played on his lips, "Your power teamed up with mine, think about what we could accomplish, think about what we could do… _together_,"

Violet didn't say anything for a moment, "Working with you… would mean turning my back on my family…" she said slowly and softly.

He looked pleadingly at her, the look in eyes begging her.

"This isn't something I can make my mind up about all at once, Buddy…" she told him.

Buddy exhaled and closed his eyes, "Yes… I know,"

They were a silent for a few moments and then Violet got up and started getting dressed and gathering her things. Buddy stood up and walked up behind her, gently rubbing her arm, "You need to decide your definition of right and wrong, Violet," Buddy said softly in her ear, "You can't let others decide that for you,"

Violet turned to face him and nodded.

He pressed his lips to hers as he wrapped his arms around her, "I love you…" he whispered.

Violet wrapped her arms around him. She felt more torn than ever. On one hand she knew what was morally correct and what was expected of her. But on the other hand she trusted Buddy. Could she really risk everything like that? Could she actually turn her back on what she was raised to believe.

"I love you, too"


	14. Chapter 14

Violet opened the door to her house that morning with a lot on her mind. She was still trying to process everything that had happened in the past 24 hours.

She decided she had decently come to terms with the fact that she was dating Syndrome.

She loved him, of that she was positive.

Buddy's proposition to work together though…

It continued to linger in the back of her mind.

She sat down and pulled one of the couch cushions against her chest.

"Violet," her mother's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Helen Parr had appeared in the doorway to the living room.

Violet looked up, "Hi…"

Shit.

So much had happened in the past 24 hours she forgot that she was gone all night and her parents were going to ask questions.

"Where did you disappear to last night? Are you just now getting home," Helen asked.

"Well… Yes, but-" Violet began quietly.

"Well, what? Where were you all night?" Helen asked.

Violet sighed, what was the use, "I was with… the guy I'm seeing," Violet answered.

Helen's face changed completely. If Violet hadn't been in trouble before, she was in deep shit now.

"So you mean to tell me you stayed the night with the guy you've been seeing, who we've never met, who we don't know anything about?!" Helen began to raise her voice in anger.

Dash appeared in the doorway, peeping his head through to see what was happening.

"Get out of here, Dash," Violet chucked a pillow from the couch at him.

Dash caught it, "You are in so much-"

"Dash, go to the other room," Helen scolded him.

Dash gulped and nodded, backing away into the other room.

Helen turned her attention back to her daughter, "How could do such a stupid thing, Violet?"

Violet rolled her eyes, she had too much on her mind to be having this talk right now, "It's really not that big of a deal, mom,"

"Yes, Violet, it actually is," Helen scolded her, "For starters, we don't know anything about him. We don't know his name, what he looks like, how old he is, he's never been over here-"

"Did you ever think there might be a reason for that?" Violet responded, "Why would I bring him here? We are not a normal picket fence family, mom! We act like it but we're not!" Violet yelled back. She didn't really know what had come over her but she was so consumed in everything else happening right now, she didn't want to waste her time arguing about this, "I didn't want to bring him here, because maybe I wanted to protect our secret. Also, I'm almost 21 years old, if I chose to stay the night at my boyfriend's apartment, I can do that! I'm an adult!" Violet argued, "I'm not a child. You can't keep ordering me around like a child!"

Helen protested, "I do not-"

"'Go to college!' 'Be home by 10'" Violet responded.

"While you live under this roof, young lady-" Helen began.

"Then maybe I'll move out!" Violet yelled.

Helen was taken aback at Violet's comment. It clearly hadn't been what she'd been expecting to hear. The two of them stood in silence for a moment before Helen took a deep breath, "Just go up to your room, please,"

Violet rolled her eyes and went upstairs, slamming the door shut behind her.

She threw herself face down on the bed and yelled into her pillow before she finally started calming down.

She took a deep breath.

She thought about what Buddy had told her…

_"__You need to decide your definition of right and wrong, Violet,"_

She sat up in bed, clutching her pillow to her chest.

_"__You can't have other people decide it for you"_

She could hear his voice in her head.

He was right. Her whole life she was raised being told what was best for her, what was right and what was wrong. Well what if they were wrong about the world. What if what they decided was right wasn't right at all? She would never know unless she decided for herself. She needed to test the waters and see exactly what she was capable of.

Violet picked up her cell phone and called Buddy, "Buddy…" she spoke. A smirk played across her lips, "I'm in,"


	15. Chapter 15

That night Violet was planning to meet Buddy at the shop to go over what his plan entailed and what her part in it would be. She waited until she'd heard her parents pass her door on their way to bed.

She listened closely. She could hear music coming from Dash's room, he was obviously still up, she heard the low rumbles of her parents talking in their bedroom, and heard the jingle of the dogs collar coming from Jack Jack's room. She silently opened the door to her bed room, turning off her light so as not to draw any attention to herself.

Dash's door was cracked and there was a thin line of light shining across the hall that she'd have to cross.

She made herself invisible and crept past Dash's door and was sure she was in the all clear. She took a step on the first step of the staircase and it let out a slight creak. She held her breath.

"What are you doing?" Dash asked in a hushed whisper.

Violet spun around, dropping her invisibility. He'd appeared as he was coming out of the bathroom. His arms crossed across his chest giving her a look. She quietly hushed him.

"Are you going to meet him?" Dash asked.

Violet paused before nodding. She figured Dash was someone she could trust not to rat her out. They had too much dirt on each other to ever get the other in trouble anymore.

Dash sighed, "Is… everything alright? I mean… you've been acting different lately… and you yelled at mom today, that's not you," he looked at her with genuine concern in his eyes. She'd never received that look from him before.

"Everything's fine, Dash," she assured him.

"This guy you're seeing… is he part of it?" Dash asked, sounding like a protective little brother.

Violet gave her brother a reassuring smile, "Any decisions I've made have been my own, Dash,"

Dash's frown deepened a bit, "That's what worries me…"

There was shuffling behind their parents' door.

Violet lowered her voice, "Don't tell mom and dad where I'm going, I'll be back before they even get up in the morning," she turned invisible once more and turned to go down the stairs.

Dash sighed, "Just.. don't do something dumb," he spoke, unsure whether or not she was still there, "I… worry… sometimes," Dash got an embarrassed look on his face. He seemed to hope she hadn't heard that part. He turned and went back to his room, shutting the door behind him. Violet watched him as he went. It was quite a privilege getting to watch her little brother start to mature. She smiled in his direction before heading down the stairs and slipping silently out the door.

She didn't let her invisibility down until she saw Buddy's car waiting around the corner for her. She knocked on the glass which caused Buddy to jump, he unlocked the car, "You know you could not be invisible when you knock on the window,"

She smirked, dropping her invisibility, "Where's the fun in that?"

He smirked at her and kissed her.

"Just push the stuff off the seat, sorry it's kinda a mess right now," he spoke as he messed with the air conditioner.

She picked some of the things up off the seat and put them in the back seat. While she was leaning over the seat she saw two unopened prescriptions for Xanax and Amobarbital. She furrowed her brow, these prescriptions were a week old and they hadn't been opened. There was a third as well, for Sarafem. Antidepressants and Antianxiety medications seemed rather important…

"Ready?" Buddy asked.

Violet decided that was a battle for another time and place. She sat back in her seat and buckled her seat belt. He smiled at her and took her hand, "I'm really happy about this Violet," he smiled at her and kissed her once more.

Violet smiled at him.

"What made you change your mind?" he asked.

Violet took a breath, "I had an argument with my mom about what is best for me and making decisions that are good for me… and how she treats me like a child. And it got me thinking that why go against what my gut is telling me just because it goes against another thing she's always told me," she smiled at him.

Buddy smiled, "I think you made a good decision, baby."

The two of them made their way downtown to the shop. Before going into the back room Buddy turned to her, "I need you promise me something right now, before this begins,"

Violet nodded.

"Once I show you it… everything. There's no going back," his voice got softer and more serious, "This plan has been in progress for years… promise me right now, you'll go through with it,"

Violet took a deep breath, having no idea what she was about to get into, "Deal,"

Buddy smirked and lead her into the back room. High tech computers lined the walls. He hit a button and the screens came to life, filling the room with light from the screens. Violet winced at the all of a sudden brightness.

"This plan is a similar take on the original concept I had of the Omnidroids," Buddy explained as he pulled the schematics up on screen.

Violet looked over them, "What's changed? What's new?"

Buddy smirked and looked at the screen, "My new secret weapon,"

Violet turned to look at him.

"Last time, my plan was more along the lines of becoming a super, selling inventions so everyone could be super," he told her, "and with everyone being super… no one would be more special than anyone else for it ever again," he explained, "This gave everyone that chance to have that advantage,"

He turned back to the screen, "This plan, reverses that," he pushed a few buttons, that zoomed in on a new section of equipment inside the Omnidroid.

"This is the game changer," he said.

Violet studied it, "It's a gun?"

"No," he spoke, "C'mon Violet you're smarter than that, look at it,"

She looked closer at it, "Not a gun to kill… to… sterilize," she spoke, "But what's this that it shoots I've never heard of-"

"That's the secret weapon! Isn't it brilliant!" he smirked excitedly, "No one will ever see it coming" he grinned widely at the screen, "You see, baby, the Omnidroid 2.0 has a power the old tinker toy Omnidroids before it didn't have. It can sense and detect a super within a mile radius. Then, one blast from the gun, and it doesn't kill them, no, much better, it removes their powers," Buddy spoke.

Violet gasped softly.

"That way… No one gets to be super," Buddy squinted his eyes a bit and smirked as he watched the simulation on the screen.

"No one?" Violet asked.

"No one…" he spoke, "Except us, baby," he smiled at her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close to him, "We'll have all the power," he whispered.

Violet understood now this was much bigger deal than she'd made it out to be in her head.

"Not just super hero's though," she questioned.

"Hm?" Buddy turned to her.

"You said it can sense a super, as in someone with powers," she asked for clarification, "So it would remove powers from super villains as well? Like the Underminer, Baran von Ruthless, Snoring Gloria-"

"Yeah, yeah, them too," Buddy waved it off with a chuckle, "The amatures," he smirked, looking over his work again.

Violet saw potential positives that would come out of the situation, after all if there weren't villains to combat, what would they need of their powers right?

She couldn't help but be slightly mesmerized by Buddy's work. It was very impressive and the robot looked incredible. This was the parts of him that attracted her to him originally, years ago. His work was genius. He could create anything.

"So, Syndrome…" Violet turned to him, with a smirk, "Do you wanna build a robot?"


	16. Chapter 16

It'd been a week now that Violet had been sneaking out of the house every night to work with Buddy. They typically worked until about 1 or 2 in the morning then Violet would go home and get some sleep, leaving Buddy to work as late as he wanted.

Little did she know exactly how much sleep Buddy wasn't getting - Not that he thought he needed it. He'd been buzzing with energy nonstop for days. He slept when he needed it. He got 2 to 3 hours, maybe 4 hours of sleep a night. Then he'd get up and start working again. He just didn't seem to need it. He hardly left the shop anymore either, except to go to his flat and shower or change. He didn't want to get too far from his work. Not when they were so close to being done.

Buddy felt like he was floating on a cloud. He was all loved up with Violet. She was perfect. She was beautiful. More than just that, she believed in him, she believed in what they were doing. His plans were all falling into place and Violet was standing right by him the whole way. It was more than he ever imagined would happen.

He was up working endlessly one morning around 5 am. Violet wouldn't be coming in again until 9. He typed with speed on the computer. His mind and his thoughts all seemed to be moving at a mile a minute.

_It could still go wrong, though._

"No. It couldn't. It will be perfect. It has to be."

_She could change her mind. After all she is a super._

"No. She isn't. She made her decision. She chose. She chose me."

_They've stopped you before…_

Buddy stopped typing and narrowed his eyes.

_They could always stop you again…_

"No…" Buddy growled slamming a fist down on the desk, bringing his other hand up to his head, pushing on his eyes, "Shut up…" he hissed through his teeth, trying to hush his own thoughts.

Violet would not change her mind. She couldn't. Not only did she promise him, but she loved him. Should wouldn't change her mind… Not now.

And anyway, she wasn't a super anymore. Violet had been distancing herself from super responsibilities the past week, making more time to work with him on their plans. She wasn't a super. She was a villain. He smirked, he knew that he needed to seal the deal with her, something that would make her cross over official. Buddy drummed his fingers on the desk. He paced around the room as he thought. His eyes lit up a bit and he had an idea. He raked his hair out of his face and grabbed his phone and punched in a number.

It rang a few times, then Buddy remembered it was quite early in the morning. She probably wasn't up – or at least whoever answered her phone wasn't up.

He knew exactly who could help him.

"_Hello dahling, you have reached the office of Edna Mode. If it's important leave me a message and if I care I'll call you back, okay? Bye-bye!_" the machine beeped.

"Edna, it's been a long time…" Buddy smirked, "It's Buddy Pine. I have something I need that you'll be interested in," he hung up the phone.

One thing that many people didn't know about Edna Mode was her passion for designing and creating super suits didn't just stop at super suits. Not that she was any kind of double agent, she simply worked for herself and kept her opinions to herself. Edna was smart, but it wasn't always clear where her loyalties lied - or if she even had any. She'd warned Buddy from the beginning against a cape, and now he wished he'd taken her initial advice. But this would be perfect!

He needed to do something big for Violet and now he knew exactly what it was. He smiled brightly to himself, quite proud of himself for coming up with such a great idea.

He turned back to his computer monitors. Their work was nearly complete. They would unveil it in a week. It was all set. It was perfect. After all the years of scheming and planning, and all the years of waiting for the perfect moment, revenge smelled so sweet.

He grinned an evil smirk as he looked at the plans on the computer again.

"How do you like me now?" he chuckled, "I don't get to be super, fine… then I'll be the villain you never should've made me…"

He let out a laugh as he smirked at his nearly complete plans.

**Hey, hi, author here. It's been awhile since I've spoken up. Sorry this chapter is late, I was out of town for a few days. I wanted to particularly make a note at the end of this chapter, cause I know this chapter reads a little differently than others. It's kinda choppy and in short sentences because I really wanted it to read like Buddy's thoughts: short and choppy. It's very quick between thoughts. I think it's kinda obvious, but I'm trying to write Buddy's inner monologues and thoughts the way thoughts race during manic episodes. I've got the whole rest of the story planned out and I am super excited that there's enough of a following that I feel like people actually care about the ending :) so strap in! I'll post again soon! - Meg**


	17. Chapter 17

Violet was in her room on her laptop one evening, going over some things Buddy wanted her to look at, when there was a knock on her door.

"Hey," her mother's voice came softly from behind the door as she opened it.

Violet looked up and closed out of the programs she had open, "Hi…" her eyes moved back to her laptop.

Helen sat on the edge of Violet's bed, "You been feeling alright, kiddo?" she asked softly, "You've been really distant for the past week or so… you haven't even been coming out on calls with us, I thought you were really enjoying super work,"

Violet's eyes turned downward, she'd be lying if there wasn't a twinge of guilt in her. She'd agreed to go through all this with Buddy when she'd been angry at her parents. She wasn't sure how she felt about it now.

"Vi…" her mom spoke.

"I'm fine, mom, really…" Violet told her, meeting her eyes.

Helen was silent briefly, "Can we talk about your boyfriend?"

Violet furrowed her eyebrows, "… No,"

"Well, you two have just been seeing each other for so long and we don't know anything about him…" Helen spoke, "You can't blame the curiosity,"

"He's really kinda closed off… he's shy," Violet tried to stretch the truth as far as she could.

"Well… I guess I can understand that," Helen nodded, "Sounds a lot like someone else I know," she smiled at her daughter, "Well at least tell me this, you really like him?"

Violet couldn't stop the smile on her face, "I love him…"

Helen smiled and ruffled Violet's hair, "That's wonderful, honey,"

Violet smiled, almost painfully, her mother had no idea the inner conflict Violet was debating.

"Can you tell me his name?" Helen asked, "Then I promise I'll lay off," Helen promised with a chuckle.

Violet suspected there was a possibility that if she said "Buddy Pine" her mother would know who she was talking about.

"Buddy," Violet told her. Violet almost thought she saw something change on her mother's face so she added, "It was a nickname his parents gave him and it just stuck," she smiled reassuringly.

Helen's face relaxed a bit and she smiled at her daughter, "Want to come down to dinner?"

Violet thought a moment, "I'm not very hungry…"

"That's alright," Helen kissed her on the forehead, "I'll leave you some leftovers, sweetie,"

Violet smiled as he mom got up to leave, "Mom…"

Helen turned back to look at her.

"I love you," Violet told her, "I'm sorry… I yelled at you…"

Helen smiled at her, "Oh, sweetie," she hugged her daughter, "It's alright, you've got your mother's temper is all," she kissed her on the head, "Everything's alright,"

Violet smiled at her mother as she left the room.

Violet looked back at her computer and thought about Buddy and his plans. She could hear his voice in her head, "_Once I show you this… there's no going back_" She knew she'd made a promise to him…

But she doubted how safe it would keep her family, she didn't want her family to lose their powers.

She breathed deeply.

She knew that she had to talk with Buddy tonight about her pulling out of the project. She didn't want to be apart of it anymore… She loved Buddy… but she couldn't risk the safety and the trust of her family.

That evening when she made it down to the shop, she prepared what she was going to say in her head. Her thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like Buddy on the phone. She paused before entering the back room, listening quietly.

Buddy did not sound happy.

"No… no… No. No! NO! Do you realize I have done 90% of work on this… this project I have worked on for four years. And you are jeopardizing the whole situation by not following through with the one and only thing I asked from you!…" She'd only heard him talk like this once before, and that was years ago, "I had better see it tomorrow morning… I didn't ask what you were doing tomorrow.. I'm telling you what you're doing right now… you realize though, friend," he chuckled morbidly, "if you don't have it… I will turn you into my floor rug… I'll see you tomorrow morning. First. Thing." She heard the slam of the phone on the desk.

Violet gulped heavily.

This was bad. Something bad was happening. She didn't know who he was anymore.

She walked into the room, "Hey…"

Buddy's eyes lit up when he saw her, "Hey," he kissed her and spun her around, "Well, hello," he kissed her again, "I have something for you,"

"Y-you do?" Violet questioned.

"I was thinking to myself, ya know, you've given up a lot to do this for me," Buddy smiled, "I couldn't appreciate it more, and I love you so much," he kissed her again, "I realized, we can't have you going into all this as Invsigirl. Invisigirl is super, and darling, you aren't super anymore," he chuckled, "So… why not make the transition official," he smirked as he walked her over to a mannequin wearing her new suit.

Violet blinked and looked at it.

The suit was sleek and soft, made of the same material as her current one. The body of the suit was purple, looking a bit like a leotard. The sleeves were black, and so were the boots that came up mid thigh.

What really made the suit was the emblem in the middle. It was similar to her current one, except it bared the letters MD.

"M.D.?" she questioned, turning to Buddy.

He smirked, "Miss Disappear," he slinked his arms around her waist from behind, placing a kiss on her shoulder, "What do you think?"

Violet looked over her super villain suit. She blinked, "I… I don't know what to say…"

_"I can't… I can't…" _she thought.

"That's alright," he kissed her shoulder and moved up to her neck, "It'll be perfect for when we finally unveil all this in a few days,"

Violet turned around to look at him, "It'll be ready that soon?" she asked.

Buddy smirked, "It sure will, baby," he played with her hair, curling it gently around her ear with a smile.

Violet knew she was in too deep to simply ask to be let out now. And after what she'd seen between Buddy and whoever was on the other end of the phone, she didn't want to get him angry. She didn't know what he'd do.

She knew it was getting too dangerous and she had to do something.


	18. Chapter 18

Violet returned home that morning, around 5 am. She went up to her room and shut the door. She hugged her pillow to her chest and finally let go everything she'd been holding back for days. She shut her eyes and let tears fall from her eyes. She clutched her pillow tighter to her chest, trying to muffle the sounds of her cries into it.

She must've not done a very good job at it because her door opened slowly and Dash peaked his head through, "Vi…"

Violet looked up and wiped her eyes quickly, "Dash… Dash, I'm fine," she assured him.

Dash frowned and shut her door behind him as he entered the room, "What's wrong,"

"Really, Dash, it's nothing," Violet was having no luck playing it off because she couldn't stop crying. She took a deep breath.

"Did he hurt you?" Dash asked sternly.

Violet shook her head, "No, not at all…"

"Violet…" Dash began, "I know, like… I'm your brother… but you can tell me… ya know, if something's going on?" he asked, feeling a little awkward, but sincere.

Violet took another deep breath and shut her eyes, "Before I tell you anything, I need to assure you 100% that he has not and will never hurt me…" she met her brothers eyes.

Dash blinked and tried to read his sister's face. He was concerned by how much she kept denying that, "Okay…"

Violet could read the skepticism on her brother's face, "No, I'm serious, he'd probably take a bullet for me," Violet assured him, "I promise he'd never hurt me,"

Dash began to believe her, "Okay… then what's going on?"

Violet opened her mouth to speak but stopped, "He…"

Dash looked at her, concerned, waiting for an explanation.

"His name is Buddy Pine…" she told him.

Dash nodded slowly, not recognizing the name.

"But… a few years ago he went by a different name…" Violet spoke slowly.

Dash furrowed his eyebrows, confused, "Am I supposed to understand that?" he asked.

Violet shut her eyes and held her breath, "He's… Syndrome,"

Dash's face drained of color and his eyes widened the size of saucers, "But he's dead… we saw…"

Violet shook her head slowly, "He got hurt really badly in the accident… but he didn't die…"

Dash shook his head, "So you mean to tell me you are literally sleeping with the enemy,"

"Dash," she hushed him, "Shut up, it isn't like that,"

"What is it like then?! He's a villain, he's deceitful, he tried to kill us" Dash argued.

Violet shook her head, "Please, listen to me… when I first met him neither of us knew who the other was. We only found out a few weeks ago…"

Dash shut his eyes and let out a breath he'd been holding.

"He hadn't given me any reason to feel unsafe…" she spoke.

"Until?" Dash asked, "If you're crying he must've done something,"

Violet looked down, "More like something I did…"

"That's like straight out the abusive boyfriend handbook, Violet, what did he do to you," Dash demanded.

"Nothing!" she assured him, "I… made a mistake…"

Violet shook her head, "I don't know why I agreed… I was blinded by anger and I love him and…"

"What did you do?" Dash asked.

"He's planning… a comeback, and… I agreed to be a part of it,"

Dash frowned, "Violet… why would you do that?"

Violet shook her head, "I don't know… but I can't just back out of it now,"

"Why not?" Dash asked.

"Because he's… different now…" Violet spoke softly, "I'm… afraid of what might happen,"

"I thought you said he'd never hurt you-"

"I'm afraid of what might happen to you," she said, "Or mom, or dad, or Jack Jack," a few tears fell from her eyes again.

"He's been manic for days and power hungry and… he's not the same person he was when I met him…" she told him, "I need to do this because if I don't I'm worried he might do something…"

Dash frowned and was silent a moment, "You need to tell mom and dad,"

Violet's head shot up, "No. And you can't tell them either."

"I think mom and dad deserve to know you're dating fucking Syndrome," Dash said.

"No," Violet grabbed his arm, "If mom and dad find out, there's nothing that could stop Buddy from getting hurt or sent to prison. He's not a bad person… he's just done some bad things, he's not in his right mind,"

Dash shook his head slowly in disbelief, "Wow…" he furrowed his brows together and looked at his sister, "You actually do… love him,"

Violet paused before nodding, "I need to fix this so that no one gets hurt,"

Dash sighed and sat cross-legged on the floor.

"I'm going to try to talk to him…" Violet said gently.

"How soon?" Dash asked.

Violet bit her lip, "Tomorrow night…"

Dash looked at her worriedly, "Please just… be safe… don't get hurt…"

"He won't hurt-"

"I don't just mean physically…" Dash spoke softly.

Violet's eyes fell. She and her brother had never shared like this before.

"I won't go to mom and dad on one condition," Dash said, "If things get bad… call me,"

Violet looked into her brothers eyes and half smiled, "It's weird… I've always looked at you like a kid… you're a grown up now…"

Dash shrugged and half smiled.

"I promise," Violet told him. She reached out and hugged her brother.

"Okay, okay, no need to get all mushy," he said shoving her off.

Violet chuckled.

Dash smiled painfully, "Please… be careful, Violet,"


	19. Chapter 19

**Trigger Warning for this chapter: Anxiety/Panic attack**

Buddy drummed his fingers against his desk as he found himself at a stopping point the next evening. There wasn't any further he could go right now, at least not until Violet got there.

Violet.

Where was she?

He looked at the clock. It was nearly 11. She was usually here by now – her parents went to bed at 10, and I mean, come on, she's invisible. He shrugged it off. It was probably nothing. She was probably just running a little late.

He turned his attention to another computer screen. The Omnidroid was nearly completely assembled. He pulled every last string he could with his former associates – who hadn't been arrested – to get this plan on it's feet. Once he and Violet had completed the planning and the prototypes, it was sent to one of Buddy's old friends to get it assembled.

He'd come to memorize every nook and crany of the new Omnidroid. He marveled at his secret weapon. A single shot of the Omnidroid's gun and any super would lose their powers. Admittedly, he didn't know if the affects were temporary or permanent. There had been no way of testing them. But admittedly, he didn't care either way. He was getting his way – finally. No one gets to be super.

Except for him and Violet.

He grinned widely at the thought.

The two of them together would run this place. The top of the food chain. All the power. He laughed to himself just thinking about it.

_Where is she?_

He looked up from the computer.

11:30.

She was late.

_It's over. Her parents caught her. They know. Any minute there'll be a thousand cops at your door. You'll go to jail. You're plan will fall to shit, like it was always destined to. She will leave you for her goody two shoes family. She never loved you anyway. How could she? After everything that happened?_

Buddy's heart rate was escalating, his breath grew shallow as he tried harder and harder to breath slowly. He slammed his fist hard down on the table, causing a crack to form in it.

_After everything you did to her and her family why would she even think twice about someone like you? Everybody leaves you. Your father, Mirage. Your mother drank till she couldn't see straight. That's probably your fault too. What is wrong with you?_

He felt his throat closing up as he tried desperately to swallow, to slow his heart rate, and slow down his breathing.

He couldn't shut up the voices.

"Stop… Stop…" he whispered, pushing on the sides of his head, "Stop…"

Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, "Buddy!"

He opened his eyes and saw Violet wearing a concerned look.

Buddy's baby blue eyes connected with hers. She'd never seen him like this, "What… what's wrong,"

He took a deep breath, that was almost impossible to take.

She held him close and rubbed his back. He held onto her, almost out of desperation. Slowly his heart rate began to come down.

He steadied his breathing and closed his eyes, burying his face into her neck.

She held him closer. What was happening to him…

Violet was torn with worry and guilt and confusion. How could she tell him now? After this? The last thing she ever wanted was to see him have another panic attack. But right now, Buddy was so vulnerable wrapped up in her arms, clinging to her for protection from himself; he was more the Buddy she knew right now than who he'd been the past several days.

"Buddy I know you haven't been taking your medicine…" she spoke gently.

He pulled away from her grasp. And just like that the moment was over. Buddy was gone, and Syndrome was back. "I don't need them," he spoke plainly.

"Buddy I just watched you have a panic attack, how can you say you don't need them?" Violet protested.

"The last thing I need is to stifle my creativity with those tranquilizers," he argued, "It's not important right now." He gently placed his hands on her arms, "What is important…" he looked into her eyes and a smile formed on his face, "Is that in two days… it begins,"

Violet blinked. The clock was ticking out, "Two days?"

"It'll be finished tomorrow," he smiled at her, "All our hard work, it's finally paying off!" he jumped up excitedly from his seat, "We'll finally be recognized for our genius! The power, the money, everything! It'll all be ours!" Buddy exclaimed, "I can finally give you the world because the world will be ours!" He laughed and kissed her.

Violet took a step back slowly and watched as the smile on Buddy's face dropped clear off it, "What?" he asked.

She took a deep breath and held it.

Buddy studied her face intently.

She let it out, "Sorry… it's just all happening so fast…" she feigned a smile, "Two more days?"

Buddy lifted her off the ground and spun her around, "Two more days," he wrapped his arms around her torso and planted a kiss on her lips.

That next morning, Violet had laid in bed for hours since getting home. She'd cried a few times to herself. She knew it had officially gotten out of hand. She knew it had been taken too far. There was nothing she could do on her own to stop him now. He wouldn't listen to reason even if she tried.

She knew the last thing she could do, was reason with her family.

Around 9 am, she heard that everyone was awake.

"Mom… Dad…" Violet spoke softly as she came down the stairs.

"Good morning, Violet," her dad spoke with a smile.

"I… I need to talk to you about something…" she admitted quietly.

When everything had finally come out and Violet had finished speaking she watched the looks on her parents face. She knew she had to be probably the biggest disappointment in the history of children. Her mother's face was easy enough to read. Helen paced a bit around the room, every now and then rubbing her eyes and letting out a few breaths.

Her father on the other hand, sat still, his eyes shut and his eyebrows narrowed.

"How could this happen…" he asked rhetorically.

"I-I'm really sorry… it should never have gotten this far…" Violet wasn't sure she could hang her head any lower.

"No! It shouldn't have! You should've come to us as soon as you found out who he was!" Bob yelled.

"Bob…" Helen protested.

"Buddy Pine! Of all people!" Bob finally stood up, "I've known this guy since he was a kid, he's crazy!" he yelled.

"Dad!" Violet protested.

"And more than that he tried to kill us!" Bob yelled, "How on earth could you just over look that minor detail, Violet!?"

"He wasn't that person when I met him!" Violet protested, "Never once has he ever given me reason to feel unsafe!"

"No he just threatens your family…" Bob began walking around the room.

"Bob…" Helen said sternly, she turned to Violet, "Well young lady… is there anything else you need to say?"

Violet nodded slightly, "About this plan he… and I…." she added shamefully, "have been creating… it's happening tomorrow…"

Bob let out a sigh but said nothing.

"I do have a plan though…" she added.

Helen, obviously the more reasonable of the two at the moment, took a deep breath and nodded, "Well… what is your plan?"


End file.
